Personal Bankruptcy Filings Jump

Personal filings for bankruptcy increased in September, pushing the total number of bankruptcies this year to nearly 1.2 million.

The number of consumer bankruptcy filings so far this year is 11.3% higher than the same time in 2009, the American Bankruptcy Institute, an organization made comprised of attorneys, accountants and other bankruptcy professionals, said Monday. Filings for the first three-quarters of the year are the highest since 2005, when the bankruptcy system was overhauled to make it more difficult for consumers to shed their debts.

“Families are very vulnerable,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director of the institute. “We expect, certainly through the balance of this year that bankruptcy will continue to be viewed as a possible solution for people who are having trouble meeting their obligations month to month.”

The Bankruptcy Institute’s tallies are based on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. Government totals tend to lag by a couple months.

In September there were 130,329 filings, up from 2.6% from the prior month, though monthly changes are volatile. The rising trend in bankruptcies in the past few years has brought filings to roughly the same level as the years leading up to the 2005 law changes, when Congress viewed the number of filings as too high. Last year there were 1.4 million filings. This year bankruptcies are on track to reach 1.6 million.